Jigsaw
by Murphy2012
Summary: As the CSIs investigate the murder of a young mother, the case suddenly becomes personal for Calleigh.
1. Chapter 1

_Horatio_

The call came in just after 6am. The body of a woman had been found in her apartment. Horatio took the call, spun his hummer in the road, and headed to the crime scene. His mind was working on the case before he even got there. Was this an early morning domestic turned murder? Had she been there all night? Horatio Caine lived for this.

It was a small apartment, just two rooms. Crime Scene tape was attached to the door frame – patrol officers were hovering around outside, not sure whether they were needed or not. Horatio ducked under the tape. In four strides, he was at the body, standing next to Tripp.

"Tripp? What do we have?" A young woman lay face down on the floor, blood pooled around her.  
"Patrol were called out just after 4am, neighbours said they heard gunshots. Looks like three bullet wounds in her back."

"Any ID?"  
"Drivers Licence says she's Adele Hutchins. 24 years old. From the look of her I'd say she's been turning tricks."  
"Let's not jump to conclusions. Have patrol managed to track down next of kin yet?"

"Not yet. I'll get on it"

Tripp turned to leave the cramped apartment, just as a second CSI ducked under the tape. Calleigh Duquesne had already pulled on a pair of latex gloves and carried a case of investigative equipment.

"Calleigh." Horatio was always pleased to have Calleigh on scene. He knew he could rely on her to be thorough.

"Hi Horatio. What do we know?"

"Not a lot. Three bullet wounds. Judging by the amount of blood under her they're through-and-through. I'll take a look around."

"I'll see if I can find those bullets." Calleigh turned and walked towards the wall, but her attention was distracted.  
"Hey, Horatio, did Patrol say they found a kid?"  
"Not that I know of. What do you have?"

Calleigh bent down to pick something up. "A stuffed toy. She doesn't seem the type to have a room full of teddy-bears."

"No, Calleigh, she doesn't" Horatio glanced around the room. There wasn't much evidence that a child lived here, but then again, there wasn't much of anything. If this girl had been turning tricks, she wasn't doing very well out of it.

Calleigh walked around the apartment, until she reached the open door to the bedroom. Her gaze fell on the wardrobe.

"You know, Horatio, when children get scared, they usually hide somewhere."  
"They do, Calleigh." The pair walked into the bedroom. Slowly, Calleigh opened the wardrobe door. A girl was crouched in the dark, hugging her knees. She couldn't have been more than six years old.  
"Hi, Sweetie" Calleigh bent down to be eye level with the child. "You're safe now. We're police officers. Everything's going to be OK."  
The child looked silently from Calleigh to Horatio. Then her eye was drawn past the pair, into the living room. Where her mother lay dead. Horatio moved quickly to block her view.

"Calleigh, why don't you two stay in here. See if she can tell you anything. I'll hurry things along in here."  
"Sure" Calleigh smiled at Horatio, then turned back to the girl. "Come on, sweetie, let's get you out of there."


	2. Chapter 2

_Calleigh_

Calleigh had put the call in to Child Services nearly three hours ago, but they were swamped, as usual. Could they child stay at the lab for a while? Sure, Calleigh had said. No problem. There was something about this child that had Calleigh on edge. Perhaps it was just because the four year old had seen her mother murdered. Possibly it was the conditions she had lived in. Maybe it was something else. She seemed somehow familiar to Calleigh, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She walked through the corridors, heading for autopsy. Alexx had called to say she had a bullet for her. They had only been able to find two at the crime scene, this was the missing third.

"Hi Alexx, do you have something for me?"  
"I do – a bullet. It was lodged in her ribcage." Alexx handed Calleigh the bagged bullet.

"Thanks Alexx." Calleigh looked down at the victim, wondering if she could figure out why the child seemed familiar. Nothing jumped out at her.

"How's the girl?" Alexx asked, always the mother.

"Still not speaking. She's in Horatio's office. Everyone's taking turns to keep on eye on her."

"Well, I hear the mother has no next of kin. Brought up in foster care and turned out at 16. I hate to think of that poor kid going the same way."  
"There's still the father. Natalia's taken a swab from her to see if she can track the him down. It's a long shot, but still…"  
"Well, I hope he's in a better state than the mother."  
"Me too. Was there anything else?" Calleigh was keen to get back to Ballistics and start analysing this bullet."  
"Yeah, just one thing. I found this on her." Alexx handed her a bag with a roll of banknotes in it.

"Cash? There must be $400 in here. It's looking more and more like she's a prostitute."

"And her last client may well have been her killer."  
"No, I don't think so. Why would he pay her and then shoot her? He might have seen something though. Thanks Alexx."

Calleigh left autopsy and headed back up to the lab. She hoped she could get a print off of the money or the bullet. Or both.

She began working on the money first – she would save the best – the bullet – for last. The money was crisp, probably new. She hoped that would mean she could get a clean print.

It didn't take long. It was only a partial, but it should be enough. Calleigh scanned the print and set the computer searching. Whilst it processed, Calleigh turned to the bullet. 22 calibre. One of her favourites. She was absorbed in her work when the computer next to her beeped. "97.2% Match Found" flashed over the screen. As she brought up the record, her heart seemed to stop in her chest.

"Kenwall Duquesne" Calleigh read, as the picture of her father flashed up in front of her. Suddenly, it made sense. This was why the girl seemed so familiar.

Natalia burst into the lab as Calleigh stared at the screen. "Calleigh I need to speak with you. It's the DNA swab I took from the girl, we found a paternal match. Calleigh, it's…"  
"My father" Calleigh cut her off. "She's my sister."


	3. Chapter 3

_Natalia_

Natalia wasn't sure she had done the right thing. Maybe she should have gone straight to Horatio, rather than telling Calleigh first. But Calleigh was her friend. She deserved to know. Besides, she seemed to have figured it out anyway.

Kenwall Duquesne had been in the system for a suspected hit-and-run, but he had been cleared. Now he was the prime suspect in a murder. Natalia couldn't help admire Calleigh's professionalism – as soon as she had found out, she had gone to Horatio, offering to step down from the case. Horatio must have said no, because Calleigh was back in ballistics processing the bullets from the scene. Natalia was in Horatio's office, looking after the little girl.

"Hannah?"  
The girl looked up at Natalia. She still hadn't spoken.

"Are you thirsty? Would you like a soda? I have some cola." Natalia briefly wondered if she should be giving soda to a four-year-old, but decided it was probably the least of her worries right now.

Hannah stared at her for a few seconds, as if she was trying to work out what Natalia was up to. Then she nodded and walked towards her. Natalia hurriedly opened the can and poured some of the contents into a cup. Hannah drank thirstily, emptying the cup.

"You hungry?"

Hannah nodded.

"Come on, let's go see what we can find." Natalia stood and stretched out her hand. Hannah hesitated briefly, before taking Natalia's hand and walking with her out to the vending machines.

"OK, do you like cereal bars?" Natalia had never noticed the lack of variety in the vending machines before. This place wasn't really geared up for providing healthy, child-friendly snacks.

Hannah shrugged.

"Well, let's give that a go." Natalia fed some coins into the machine and retrieved the bar. Unwrapping it, she handed it to Hannah.

The girl wolfed it down, she must have been starving. She looked it, too.

"Hey Natalia, making friends?" Eric approached them with his cheeky smile.

"Hey Eric, Hannah and I were just looking for some breakfast. I have a feeling somebody might still be hungry. There's not much choice in here" Natalia gestured at the under-performing vending machine.

"Ryan's on his way back in – why don't I call and ask him to pick something up?" He turned to Hannah "I bet you like pancakes."

She grinned at him.

Natalia laughed at Eric. "I think she likes you!"

"Yeah, well, I have a winning smile. It certainly won over her big sister."  
"My God, can you believe that? Calleigh must be reeling."  
"She's OK. You know Calleigh."  
"Has Horatio managed to get hold of her father yet?"  
"Tripp's bringing him in. Maybe then we'll get some answers."  
"I hope so".

"I want Taffy" a thin voice piped up, Natalia and Eric exchanged a glance – finally, the girl was speaking.

"Taffy? To eat?"  
"No. My bear. The man wanted to take him away but my Mommy said no. Then she fell down."  
"Is that when you went to hide in the cupboard?" Natalia asked

Hannah nodded.  
Eric crouched down to Hannah's height "Hannah, do you remember what the man looked like? Was he somebody you knew?"  
Hannah shook her head. "I want Taffy…"  
"OK, Hannah, We'll find him" Eric stood up to talk to Natalia.

"Why would somebody want to steal the bear?" Natalia asked in a hushed voice, cautious not to let Hannah hear.

"I don't know. Maybe she's confused. It's worth checking out though."


	4. Chapter 4

_Eric_

Eric was worried about Calleigh. He was pretty much always worried about Calleigh. But stuff with her father especially got to her. Eric knew how she felt.

He left Natalia with Hannah – the little girl seemed at ease with her and he hoped Natalia could coax more information out of her. He wanted to talk to Calleigh about the bear. And about her father.

She was in ballistics. She didn't hear him approach, so he took a few seconds just to watch her. He loved the way she worked, methodically, carefully, so delicately. She always seemed most relaxed when she was surrounded by guns and bullets. Most men found that intimidating. Eric loved her all the more for it.

Eric knew better than to sneak up on somebody when they were messing with guns, so he cleared his throat to make himself known. Calleigh looked up and treated him to one of her smiles. It didn't reach all the way to her eyes though, like it usually did.

"Hey, Cal. How're you doing?"  
"I'm fine. I'm struggling to find anything on these bullets. It looks like the killer wore gloves when he loaded it, and I can't find a match to the bullets in the system."

"I meant how are _you_. Calleigh. Not CSI Duquesne."

"I know what you meant. And I'm fine. My Dad didn't do this. He doesn't even own a gun."

"He's still Hannah's father." Eric trod cautiously. He wanted to make sure Calleigh knew he was on her side, even if he did have doubts about her father.

"I know. I know, Eric." She put down the bullet and leaned on the table. She closed her eyes. Eric moved to her and put his arm around here.

"I just… I wish I knew what was going on. He never mentioned Hannah. He might not even know he's the father."  
"Tripp's bringing him in now. Horatio's going to talk to him. He'll get this straightened out."

"Eric, would you do something for me?"

"Anything." It was rare she asked for his help, he made damn sure she knew he was ready to give it.

"Will you sit in on the interview with Horatio?"

"Sure, baby. I'll head over there now."

"Thanks"

"Oh, I almost forgot – what happened to the bear you found at the scene. Hannah said something about a man trying to take her bear."  
"Hannah's talking?"  
"Yeah, she seems to have taken a bit of a shine to Natalia. She wants Taffy."

"Taffy?"  
"The bear."  
"Oh. Well, Taffy is right over there with the rest of the evidence. Can you check him out before you let Hannah have him?"  
"Sure. I'll take him to Alexx. She can perform some surgery." Eric smiled at the joke. Calleigh shook her head and turned back to the bullet.

Eric took the bear down to autopsy and asked Alexx to operate. Any of the CSIs could have done it, but he got a kick out of asking Alexx.

"You want me to perform surgery on a stuffed bear?" She had asked.

"It's for Hannah, Alexx. She needs to know that Taffy here is in safe hands."  
"Get out of here before I shut you in one of my coolers"

Eric had turned and left, but not too quickly to hear Alexx tell the bear to relax. He smiled to himself. The team had all taken a liking to Hannah. Probably because she was Calleigh's baby sister.

He headed up to the interview room, just in time to meet Tripp and Ryan bringing in Kenwall Duquesne.

"Mr Duquesne." Eric greeted him.

"Eric. It's good to see you again. Shame about the circumstances. How's my daughter?"  
"Which one?" Eric couldn't help but let a touch of distain into his voice. He wanted to keep the peace with the older man, for Calleigh's sake, but Eric hated how Calleigh's father hurt her so often.

"Calleigh… I mean, both of them. Look, Hannah… I didn't know about her until a few months ago. It was one drunken night…"  
Eric bit his tongue – he knew full well that there were plenty of drunken nights where Kenwall was concerned.

"Mr Duquesne" Horatio approached the group "Sir, if you'd like to take a seat in here." He gestured into the interview room.  
Kenwall stepped inside, and Eric took the opportunity to speak to Horatio.

"H, is it OK if I sit in? Calleigh asked…"  
"No problem."  
"Great."

Eric and Horatio followed Kenwall inside and pulled the door closed behind them. Eric took a seat, Horatio remained standing.

"Sir, you seem to have found yourself in quite a mess this time."  
"Horatio, I… I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I met Adele in a bar nearly seven years ago. She just started chatting to me. I didn't even realise she was a hooker, not until after. She demanded money so I paid her and left. I thought that would be the end of it. She tracked me down four months ago, told me I got her pregnant. To be honest, I didn't believe her. But the kid looked so thin, I felt bad for her. So I started giving her money. You know, for food and stuff."  
"When was the last time you brought her money?"  
"Last night. I gave her $400. I was there at around 6pm, I gave her the money and left. She was alive when I walked out of there, Horatio. You gotta believe that!"

"That explains the cash Alexx found on her. Sir, can you tell me where you went after you left Ms Hutchins' apartment?"  
"To the bar. I was there all evening. Gina called me a cab at about 11.30 and I went home. I slept right through until your officers woke me up banging on my door."

Eric, silent so far, stood up "Mr Duqesne, Hannah mentioned a man wanting to take away her teddy bear. Does that mean anything to you?"  
"A bear? No. I didn't even see a bear."  
"OK, Mr Duquesne. That will be all for now."

"Can I see Calleigh?"  
Eric glanced at Horatio, who subtly nodded his head.  
"I'll see if she's free." Eric left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

_Horatio_

Horatio hated cases that involved children. They were always the most innocent of victims, even if they had committed a crime. Now that the little girl had begun to speak, it was time to see if she could tell them anything that might help.

She was still in his office, sitting at his desk eating pancakes with maple syrup. Natalia was keeping an eye on her, chatting with Ryan, no doubt gossiping about the events of this morning. They looked up when Horatio walked in.

"H." Natalia walked towards him. "How did it go with Calleigh's Dad?"

"He doesn't exactly have an alibi, but from the sounds if it he wasn't it a fit state to even walk straight. Let alone shoot straight. I don't think he's our guy. Have we got any more from Hannah?"  
"Not a lot. She mentioned a man trying to take her teddy bear this morning. Alexx is looking into that now. Other than that she's not really said much."  
"OK. Mr Wolfe, go talk to Alexx. Get bear and see what you can find."  
"I'm on it." Ryan left, leaving Horatio and Natalia to talk to Hannah. Horatio pulled up a chair.

"Hi Hannah. My name's Horatio. Those pancakes look really good."  
Hannah nodded. "I like pancakes. My mom made them for me once."  
"Hannah, I need to ask you about the man you saw. The one that tried to take your bear."  
"Taffy"

"Taffy, yes. Do you remember what the man looked like?"  
Hannah shook her head.

"Had you ever seen him before?"  
She shook her head again.

"Hannah, is there anything at all you can remember? Anything that might help us find the man?"  
"My mom called him Vince."  
"Vince. Hannah, that's really helpful. Are you OK here with Natalia a little longer?"

She nodded again.

Horatio stood and left the room, he wanted to speak to Calleigh before she saw her father.

She was in Ballistics, still working on the bullets.

"Calleigh. How are you?"  
"I'm fine, Horatio. I still can't get anything off of these bullets. I've tried everything I can think of, but they're totally clean." She sighed and rubbed her head.

"Did Eric find you? Your Dad's here."  
"Yeah, he just left. I need to finish this first."  
"I don't need to tell you to keep it professional. Make sure somebody's with you when you speak with him, OK?"  
"Sure. Has he… has he seen Hannah yet?"  
"Not that I know of. Calleigh, have you thought about what will happen to Hannah?"  
"To be honest, Horatio, I've been busy with this…"  
"You're the only family she has left, Calleigh. Family's important, you know that. Think about it, OK?"  
"I will. Thanks, Horatio."

Horatio left Calleigh and headed back to the lab, just in time to catch Ryan heading back with the bear. He followed him in.

"Ryan. Did Alexx find anything?"  
"Nothing. She performed an autopsy on Taffy here, but there was nothing but stuffing. She did mention an injury to the left arm, but she repaired that." Ryan smirked at his boss.

Horatio wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Mr Wolfe, what about that ribbon" Horatio motioned to a red ribbon around the bear's neck.

"We might be able to lift a print off that, if we're lucky. I'll get on that now."

"Mr Wolfe, call me if you find anything."


	6. Chapter 6

_Ryan_

Ryan knew that Kenwall Duquesne was somewhere in the lab, and he was doing everything in his power to avoid him. He had nothing in particular against the man, but their first meeting had been a little awkward, to say the least. He wasn't sure what he'd say to him if they bumped into each other.

He knew Mr Duquesne didn't want to see the little girl, so he took his time returning Taffy to his rightful owner. He even offered to take over from Natalia, if she would look for prints on the ribbon, but Natalia had said no. Hannah was starting to talk a little, and Natalia thought she might be able to get some more information from her.

Ryan thought she just wanted an easy day playing I Spy.

Lifting prints from fabric wasn't easy, but he'd practiced the procedure a few times and he was confident.

Confidence is no good if there are no prints to lift, though. Ryan hadn't been surprised. It had been a long-shot at best.

"Is that the ribbon from the bear?" Ryan almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of Calleigh's voice.

"How the hell do you manage to creep up on people wearing heels like that?" He asked.

"I tip-toe. Did you find anything?"  
"Nothing. Sorry"  
She looked crestfallen. "It's not your fault."  
"Look, Calleigh, I know your Dad doesn't have an alibi, but you know as well as I do the evidence we have is purely circumstantial… He won't go down for this."  
"Of course he wont. He didn't do anything! You don't seriously think he killed that girl, do you?"  
Ryan backed off. Calleigh was not somebody he wanted to rile. She knew too much about guns, for one thing.

"No! Of course that's not what I meant… I just meant… I was trying to help."  
"If you want to help, Ryan, find something that proves my father's innocence."

Ryan couldn't help thinking that Calleigh would never talk to Delko like this. The two of them always seemed to be at odds with him. They were like the cool kids at high school, and no matter what he did he couldn't break into that clique. Sure, Delko had seniority, but still... She must have realised he wasn't accusing her father of anything.

"Calleigh, we'll find something. I'll keep looking… something will turn up."  
Her expression softened a little.

"Ryan, I'm sorry. This whole thing has gotten me a little edgy. I know you're doing your best."

He was taken aback. Calleigh didn't usually back down, not that he'd ever seen anyway. He decided to grab hold of this olive branch.

"No problem, Calleigh, I understand. Listen, are you going to see Hannah?"

"Yeah, I've been putting it off, but I really should talk to her."  
"Look, I can't give her the ribbon back, you know – since it's evidence, but I thought she might like this."  
Ryan held out a piece of pink ribbon with white polka dots.  
"Ryan, where did you get this?" Calleigh smiled at him

"Zimmerman, on night shift? It was her birthday yesterday. She left this in the locker room. I'm sure she won't mind."

"Thank you Ryan. I'm sure Hannah will love it."

Still grinning, she left.


	7. Chapter 7

_Calleigh_

It was sweet of Ryan to find the ribbon for Hannah. Even if it was stolen. It gave Calleigh somewhere to start when she saw the little girl.

She'd been putting it off, even though she knew she'd have to try and explain things to Hannah. Calleigh had been trying to sort things out in her head. She'd told Horatio that she hadn't thought about Hannah's future, but she had lied. She hadn't thought about much else. Which was why it had taken her so long to process the evidence she'd been working on.

Standing outside Horatio's office, Calleigh watched Natalia playing with the girl. She'd managed to find a jigsaw puzzle from somewhere – Calleigh suspected Natalia had actually gone out and bought it – and the two were sitting on the floor, fitting the pieces together.

It was funny – trying to fit pieces together was exactly what Calleigh had been trying to do. Eric had told her that her father had known about Hannah – had been paying maintenance for her – but Hannah had never met him. That was probably a good thing, as much as she loved her father, Calleigh knew he wasn't capable of raising this little girl.

But was she any better? Part of her laughed at herself for even entertaining the idea. She was hardly the model for good parenting. She worked long hours, doing a dangerous job. She lived in an apartment with no back yard.

And then there was Eric. Calleigh knew he'd support her, no matter what she chose to do, but the two of them… they weren't exactly in a stable relationship. Was it fair to Hannah? Was it fair to Eric?

Calleigh didn't know. What she did know was that the little girl in there, playing happily with Natalia, was her sister. And she couldn't just ignore that.

She pushed the door open, and Natalia and Hannah looked up.

"Hey. Looks like you guys are having fun."  
Natalia grinned "Yeah, Hannah and I are best friends now, right girlfriend?"

Hannah grinned "Natty bought me this puzzle. It's Dora. Do you like Dora?"  
"Umm… I don't really know her all that well. But you know, I'm sure I'd like her if I knew her" Calleigh turned to Natalia. "Natty?"  
"What? Natalia's a mouthful."  
Calleigh rolled her eyes. She hesitated, not really sure what to say next. Tugging awkwardly at her pants, she joined Natalia and Hannah on the floor.

"Listen, Hannah…" The little girl carried on with the puzzle, not looking at Calleigh. Calleigh glanced at Natalia, who encouraged her to keep going.  
"Hannah, do you know why you're here?"  
Hannah kept focussing on the puzzle.

"Hannah?"  
The child looked up. Her eyes locked with Calleigh's

"My mommy's dead."  
It sent a chill through Calleigh. To hear the little girl speak with such candour. She tried to tell herself Hannah was just repeating what she'd heard. She was too young to really understand.

"Yeah, sweetie. Your Mommy died. Some people are going to come and see you soon, to talk about what happens now."  
"Can't I stay here? With you, and Natty, and the man who brought me pancakes?"

"This is a lab, sweetie, you can't live here. You need a home, and somebody to look after you."  
"Natty is looking after me."

Calleigh looked at Natalia, who was absent mindedly stroking the little girl's hair

"I tell you what, I'll talk to some people, and I'll make sure you get to live somewhere really nice, OK? With lots of pancakes."

"Promise?"  
Calleigh hesitated. Should she promise this? What if she couldn't deliver. But then, there was a way that she could make sure Hannah was safe… perhaps it was an option after all…

"I promise. And look what I brought for you." Calleigh pulled the piece of ribbon out of her pocket. "It's for Taffy. Pancake man sent it."

Hannah took the ribbon and twisted it around her fingers.

"Calleigh?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Will you make it into a bow for me?"  
"Sure."

Calleigh spent her entire lunch break with Hannah, so Natalia could go and grab something to eat. Hannah was growing on her fast, and already Calleigh was wondering if she would be physically capable of letting her go. She knew that the odds of a six-year-old finding a good home were pretty slim – adoptive parents generally wanted babies. The more she thought about it, the more she thought that Hannah's place was with her. But then, her common sense would kick in, and she'd talk herself out of it again.

Hannah, meanwhile, had found her voice and wasn't going to stop using it now. She babbled endlessly about Taffy and Dora and how much she loved to sing, even performing a few nursery rhymes for Calleigh. She had the sweetest voice, Calleigh thought.

They were engrossed in the puzzle again when the door opened. Calleigh looked up to see Eric, standing there looking as handsome as always, and two people in suits. A man and a woman. Calleigh knew they were from Child Protection. She recognised the woman, although the man was unfamiliar.

"Calleigh, these guys need to talk to you a moment."  
"Sure. Eric, would you mind taking Hannah for a bit? I'm sure she'd like some lunch"  
"No problem. Hey Hannah, why don't we see if we can find a sandwich or something."  
Hannah happily trotted off with him, leaving Calleigh to face the stern-looking couple from Child Services.


	8. Chapter 8

_Eric  
_

Eric, like everybody else at the lab, had only known Hannah for a few hours, but he already adored the little girl. And not just because she looked like a miniature Calleigh. She was funny, and she loved to sing. She was passionate, and now that she had found her voice, she didn't hesitate to speak her mind. She was like Calleigh in that respect.

He took her to the vending machine and bought her a cheese sandwich and some chips, which she happily ate. All the while, he kept one eye on what was happening in Horatio's office. It was hard to tell, but he thought he saw Calleigh signing papers. He hoped she was agreeing to keep Hannah, rather than signing away any rights or anything. As he watched Hannah battling to get the last of the chips out of the packet, he allowed himself to think about raising the little girl with Calleigh. It would be perfect. Sure, it would be difficult, considering what they did for a living, but they could make it work.

He could move into Calleigh's apartment with them. It was bigger than his, and in a nicer area of town. Or maybe they should buy somewhere? A proper house with a yard. They could even get a dog…

Smirking at himself, Eric pulled himself back to reality. Fantasizing was all very well, but he needed to keep his feet on the ground. He didn't even know what Calleigh planned to do yet.

"Eric…"  
His thoughts were interrupted by his boss.

"H. Any leads?"  
"Nothing. It would seem the trail has gone cold. Wolfe and Tripp are back at the crime scene to see if they can find what this Vince was looking for, but it's not looking good."  
"Unless we find the weapon…"  
"Indeed. In the meantime, I've asked Wolfe to bring some of Hannah's things back with him." Horatio glanced over to his office, where Calleigh was deep in conversation with the couple from Child Protection.  
"Do you know what Calleigh's decision was?" Horatio asked

"No. Although she spent a couple hours with Hannah earlier. It would be nice to think…"  
"I'm sure she'll make the right choice, Eric."  
Eric glanced down at Hannah, who was occupying herself feeding pieces of cheese sandwich to Taffy. "I hope so, H".

The two of them watched the goings on in the office again, until the occupants all stood. Calleigh shook hands with each of them in turn, before opening the door for them to leave. She looked up, catching Erik's eye. With a brief nod of her head, and a flash of her smile, Eric knew what she had decided.

Calleigh approached them. Eric couldn't take his eyes off her – it was as if she'd changed in those few minutes, suddenly the pieces of their lives were starting to fit together. He could see their future stretching out ahead of them, all three of them, a family.

"Calleigh" Horatio spoke whilst Eric was still grinning like an idiot. "Let's have a quick chat. In my office?"  
"Sure" Calleigh answered. "Are you OK with Hannah, Eric?"  
"Oh yeah. We're gonna have a great time, aren't we kid?"  
Hannah beamed. And Eric beamed back.


	9. Chapter 9

_Horatio_

Horatio knew what Calleigh would decide long before she knew herself. The trouble with Calleigh was even when she knew the answer, she often denied it. But she caught up with herself eventually. He could always trust her to make the right decision.

He shut the door to his office and turned to face her, but she started talking before he could.

"Horatio, I know, it's an inconvenience and all, but it's just an emergency placement for now, nothing's permanent yet… we'll see how it goes."  
"Calleigh. Family is never an inconvenience, never think that it is."  
Calleigh looked down, slightly ashamed.

"You know, I've been thinking. It might be better if you weren't in the lab for a few days, just whilst we sort this case it. We wouldn't want IAB to think there was a conflict of interest here, now, would we? Take some time, settle Hannah in."  
"Horatio, I really appreciate it, but I can't just leave you guys in the lurch like that…"  
"Calleigh, it's either a conflict of interests or I'm putting you on Witness Protection Duty with Hannah. Take your pick."  
Calleigh knew she was defeated. "Thanks, Horatio."

Horatio smiled. He knew all about being thrown into parenting, and he knew Calleigh would need all the support she could get. Giving her some extra time off was the least he could do for her, and the girl. Especially since it was looking more and more likely they wouldn't be able to bring Adele's killer to justice. Making sure Hannah had a happy life was the next best thing. Better, actually.

"Wolfe has picked up a few things for Hannah, he'll be back with them soon. I suggest the two of you head home and get yourself sorted out. No doubt you have a lot to do…"  
"Oh my gosh I hadn't though about the practical stuff! I've been so busy trying to decide what to do it never occurred to me... I don't even have a bed for her!" Her face took on a panicked expression.

Horatio smiled "Calleigh, in my – very limited – experience, children need very little. Love, patience, kindness – all things you have plenty of. Although, I will confess, a bed is probably a good idea. I suggest you hit the shops."


	10. Chapter 10

_Calleigh_

Shopping.

One of Calleigh's favourite things. But she had no idea how to shop for a child. What should she get?

Calleigh had been shocked when the woman from Child Protection had said it was as simple as signing a few forms. Apparently emergency care with a family member was something they did all the time. The woman hadn't even questioned that Calleigh would want to do it, and that had been enough to make up her mind. She had signed everything. She could apply to legally adopt Hannah if she wanted, and it was unlikely to be turned down.

Calleigh grabbed a notebook and pen from Horatio's desk and started writing a list.

Bed.

She stopped to think. Adele's apartment had been pretty sparse, it didn't look like Hannah had much. She looked through the window at Hannah, still chattering happily to Eric. Calleigh hadn't noticed how unkempt she looked. She had clearly outgrown her clothes – the sleeves on her top were half way up her forearm. Her hair was unwashed and unbrushed. Her shoes were worn thin.

She added "clothes" to the list, followed by "shoes". She wrote "PJs", just in case she forgot that in the clothes category. "Toothbrush", "Bedding", "Night Light". The list grew. Calleigh chewed the pen, forgetting it was Horatio's. "Toys" she added, vaguely.

The door opened and Eric came back in, Hannah trailing behind him. Calleigh looked up at them, and she couldn't help thinking how good Eric looked as a father-figure. She couldn't deny that she'd thought about that. A lot. Maybe with Hannah on the scene, she and Eric would be forced to face up to their feelings. Maybe they could be a proper family…

"Cal, what are you looking so soppy about? Motherhood getting to you?"  
"Kinda" she replied, not giving too much away.

"H said you were worried about a bed or something. What's up?"

"I don't have a spare one… I hadn't thought about the practical side of things… I need to go shopping."  
Eric smirked. He wasn't used to seeing Calleigh flustered. It was kind of cute.

"Look, why don't you explain things to Hannah and head to the mall. I have a few things to finish up here then I'll come and meet you. We'll go and buy a bed and I'll help you sort it all out."  
Calleigh couldn't hide the relief she felt. "Thanks, Eric."  
"No problem." He kissed her on the forehead – an impulsive move that took them both slightly by surprise – and left her with Hannah.

The little girl looked up at Calleigh, expectantly. There was no denying she was intuitive. Calleigh knelt down in front of her sister.

"Hannah, you know I promised I'd find you a nice home? Where you could have pancakes?"  
Hannah nodded, gazing into Calleigh's eyes.

"Well, it turns out, I'm pretty good at making pancakes. So how about you come and live with me?"  
"Forever?"  
Calleigh hesitated. She probably shouldn't make promises she might not be able to keep. But somehow, she had a feeling this was all going to work out.

"Forever. But before we make a start on forever, we need to go shopping. I think you could do with some new clothes."  
"And shoes? I like new shoes."  
Calleigh laughed. Hannah was more like her than she had realised. She pulled the child into her arms and held her close, never wanting to let go.

But she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Err… sorry, Calleigh. I picked up everything of Hannah's I could find at the apartment. Eric said you guys were just leaving so I wanted to make sure you got this stuff."  
Calleigh glanced down at the two Wal-mart bags he was carrying. The whole of Hannah's possessions fitted into two small carrier bags. It made her heart break a little to look at.

"This is it?"  
"Yeah…" Ryan dropped his voice. "The place was a dump, Cal. Filthy… roaches everywhere. Looks like Adele was really struggling."  
"Well, thanks for this, Ryan. Hannah and I are gonna hit the mall now. I won't be in for a few days, so I'll catch you next week."  
Calleigh took the bags off of him and took Hannah's hand. As she walked through the door, he called out to her.

"Calleigh?"  
She turned to look at him.

"Congratulations. You'll make a great Mom."  
She smiled, and then they were gone.


	11. Chapter 11

_Ryan_

Ryan couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. A few dirty clothes, two books and a doll with no hair was all she had. He hadn't even been able to find a hairbrush. He wondered if he should organise a collection or something, maybe the team could all club together and buy her something really nice. He made a note to talk to Eric about it later.

Right now, he had a few more pieces of evidence to process before he could finish up for the day. He and Tripp had scoured the apartment, but had found nothing. All he could do was go over the last bits of evidence they'd found that morning.

He reached the lab and grabbed a pair of gloves. He started pulling them on, but something didn't feel right. There was something on his hands. Carefully, he scraped at his hands. White powder. It looked like cocaine. But he had been wearing gloves the whole time he was at the scene. There was no way he could have gotten this on him.

A quick analysis confirmed it – positive for cocaine. But where could it have come from? It must be transfer from somewhere. Ryan decided to go through everything again, just in case they missed anything.

As he was pulling evidence out of the box, Eric came into the lab.

"Hey Ryan, look I just wanted to thank you for your help with this. Calleigh and I, we really appreciate it."  
"Calleigh and I? So is it official now?"  
Eric looked at the floor and shifted awkwardly. He rubbed one hand over his head.

"Yeah… sort of. We need to talk some stuff over…"  
"Congrats man, you guys are made for each other."  
"Thanks. Look, I'm nearly at the end of my shift, do you need a hand with this before I head over the find Calleigh and Hannah?"

"Actually, you might be able to help me solve a little mystery. I found trace amounts of cocaine on my hand, but I can't figure out where it came from."  
"Did you wear gloves at the scene?"  
"Yeah, the whole time. I figured it must have transferred from somewhere but I'm dammed if I can figure out where. I've been going through all of the evidence again but so far it's all clean."  
"Well, it must have come from somewhere. I'll help you."  
"Thanks, man." Eric pulled up a stool and the two of them worked silently for a while, until Ryan cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably on his stool.  
"Something you wanna say, Wolfe?" Eric questioned him.

"Actually, yeah. I was just thinking… Do you think it would be OK to organise a collection for Hannah. I thought we could buy her something. Maybe a dollhouse. But I don't want to offend Calleigh or anything…"  
"I'm sure she'd love that. I don't get why you're so afraid of Calleigh, she'd be thrilled that you did something like that for Hannah."  
"I'm not scared of her, I just…say the wrong things sometimes."  
Eric laughed at him. Trust me, Wolfe, Calleigh doesn't have a problem with you. Now, me, on the other hand…"  
Ryan looked worried, until Eric laughed at him, shaking his head. Ryan joined in, and the two men carried on working through the evidence, laughing and chatting.


	12. Chapter 12

_Eric_

Eric glanced at his watch. It was coming up to five P.M. The roads would be busy with commuters. It would probably take him a good half-hour to reach the mall. Calleigh and Hannah had already had a three-hour start on him. He dreaded to think how much they had bought already.

As he pulled out of the MDPD parking lot, he dialled Calleigh's cell. It only rang once before she picked it up.

"Hi Cal, where are you guys?"  
"Still at the mall. We're just having a drink before we hit the shops again."  
"How's Hannah?"  
"She's amazing. She loves clothes shopping. We've bought some really cute stuff."  
"For you or for her?" Eric couldn't help smiling.

"For her! Mostly. I bought a couple of tops…"  
Eric laughed. "OK, well I'm just leaving, I'll be with you in a half-hour or so. Meet me in the food court?

"Sure. We need a hand with all these bags."

Laughing, he hung up. Calleigh sounded so relaxed on the phone. He wondered if she'd really been able to take in what had happened today, everything had moved so fast. And now she was a Mom, maybe not officially yet, but he had no doubt that would come.

He had been thinking about Calleigh and Hannah pretty much all afternoon, switching from thinking about what they needed to get for Hannah, to how to make sure Calleigh knew he wanted to be with her. How much he wanted to be a family. He had resolved to tell her tonight, after Hannah was asleep. It would be perfect. He imagined himself in the kitchen, cleaning away the dinner things whilst Calleigh read Hannah a story. When they were done, he would lead her to the couch, look into her eyes, and tell her how much he loved her. He would tell her he wanted to be with her forever. He had even considered buying a ring, asking her to marry him, but he thought that might be too much. He didn't want to scare her off. He smiled as he thought about how perfect it was going to be.

He daydreamed the whole way to the mall. By the time he pulled into the parking lot he was about ready to pick out names for more babies. As he walked through the mall, he tried to snap himself out of it. Calleigh could read him like a book and he didn't want to come across as going completely soppy. Not yet, anyway.

The food court was packed, but he picked them out straight away. He had always been drawn to Calleigh. Hannah actually saw him first and waved, making Calleigh look up. She smiled at him. As he approached their table, she stood, and he couldn't help himself. He draw her into him and kissed her, deeply, passionately. She didn't pull away, she just seemed to melt into him. When they broke off, he glanced nervously at Hannah. What would she think?

Not a lot, it seemed. She was happily colouring in a brand new colouring book, with brand new crayons. The little girl apparently was more at ease with their relationship than Calleigh and Eric were themselves. That was when Eric looked down and saw the shopping bags.

"My God, Calleigh, did you leave anything in the store? You must have at least fifty bags here!"  
"You ain't seen nothing yet, mister – we were just about to hit the Disney Store."  
"If you think I'm letting you hit the Disney Store with your credit card, you have another thing coming!"  
"I wasn't planning on hitting the Disney Store with my credit card. I was planning on using yours." She smiled at him playfully. He knew he was defeated.

"OK, but don't max it, OK? I'll take these back to the car and I'll meet you in there."

He gathered up the mountain of bags and took them back to the car, before heading back into the mall.

They spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, buying everything from groceries to a bed. By the time they reached Calleigh's apartment, Hannah was sound asleep in the back of the car. Eric carried her in and laid her on Calleigh's bed, whilst Calleigh started unloading the bags.

Eric headed outside to help Calleigh unload. She was walking towards him, a couple of bags in one hand, a stuffed toy in the other. He waited for her to get close enough before snaking his hands around her waist. He bent down and kissed her, softly at first, then more passionately, until he could feel her body relax against him. She dropped the bags and toy, and reached up to put her arms around his neck.

As they broke away from each other, he looked into her eyes. This wasn't quite how he'd planned it, but now seemed like a good time.

"Calleigh, I want to be with you. Properly, not on-again off-again like we've been doing. I want us to be together forever. You, me and Hannah. We'll be a proper family. I know I haven't always made it clear to you and I know this probably isn't the right time…"  
She put a finger to his lips, quietening him. "It's the best time… I want us to be together too. I love you, Eric Delko."  
He grinned at her, and leaned in to kiss her again. The chirrup of his cell-phone interrupted him. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the display.

"It's Ryan. I'd better get it."  
"I'll start dinner. Don't be too long." She picked up the toy and bags and carried on inside, with Eric watching her go, before he answered the call.

"Hey Ryan, what's up?"  
"Not a lot, actually. Natalia and I went through every piece of evidence again but we can't find the cocaine. We're thinking the killer found it and took it with him."  
"And didn't leave any trace of it? I find that hard to believe. We must have missed something."  
"Yeah, well I'm damned if I can figure out what it is. Unless the kid remembers something else this case is dead in the water."  
"OK, well, Calleigh and I will do what we can. Look, I have to go, I have a bed to make. I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

"No problem."


	13. Chapter 13

_Ryan _

Ryan was frustrated. He knew that trace had to come from somewhere, but he'd been over everything twice and everything was clean. The whole afternoon had been a total bust.

At least Natalia had hung out with him, helping him go through the evidence. He enjoyed spending time with Natalia, and it helped to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

He reached for the pile of Adele's clothes. Maybe they had missed something there. Pulling out a magnifying glass, he started to scour the fabric once more, hoping to find a hair, some skin… anything.

"Hey Ryan, I bought you a little present." Natalia was standing in the doorway, holding two cups of Starbucks Coffee.

"Natalia, you are a mind reader." He stepped away from the table – a coffee spill would compromise all of the evidence – and took the cup from her.

"Ryan, I know you want to find this guy, we all do, but we've been through all this stuff twice now. If there was trace to find, we'd have found it." Natalia peeled the lid off of her coffee cup and gently blew the hot liquid, trying to cool it.

"Yeah, I know… it's just. It kinda feels like she's one of our own, you know?"

"I get it, I feel the same way. I just think we maybe need to take another angle. Maybe go back to the crime scene again."

"We've scoured that apartment, there was nothing. Not even the drug dogs found anything."

"Maybe the guy knew how to clean up the trace or something."

"But why would he leave the bullets and casings?"

"I don't know, Ryan. I really don't." The two sipped their coffees in silence, each trying to think what might have happened to the drugs.

"OK, Ryan. Let's walk it through one more time". Natalia turned to face him, waiting for him to speak.

Ryan sighed. He didn't think this would help, but what the hell. "OK. Tripp and I went back to the apartment. The drug dogs were just finishing up. We checked the toilet, the sink, behind pipework, we even lifted the carpets. Everything came back negative for drugs."

"OK, so she probably wasn't hiding it in the building itself. What about the evidence you brought back?"

"There wasn't much. A few shoes, a couple of containers from the kitchen. It all came back negative."

"Yet you still had the cocaine on your hands. Did you touch anything else whilst you were there?"

Anything at all?"

Ryan's eyes widened. How could he have been so stupid?

"Ryan? What is it?"

"Hannah's stuff. I collected up a bunch of clothes and stuff for Hannah. There was a doll…"

"Ryan, tell me you processed it all before you gave it to Calleigh.

From his look, Natalia could tell that he hadn't.

"My God, Ryan!"

"I know! I don't know how I could have forgotten that…"

"You try calling Delko, I'm gonna call Calleigh. You better hope they haven't unpacked the bags yet."

Ryan was already punching the number into his cell, whilst silently praying that the evidence hadn't been compromised.

The phone kept ringing… no answer. Ryan looked up at Natalia, who was shaking her head. Eventually she ended the call.

"Come on, Ryan. We'd better get over there. I'll fill Horatio in."


	14. Chapter 14

_Calleigh_

Calleigh had put her phone on silent. Had she been in the kitchen, she probably would have seen the light come on as Natalia tried to call her. But she wasn't. She had heard Eric's cell ring whilst he was in the shower, but she couldn't find it. They'd leave a voicemail if it was important, she figured.

She was in the spare room, clearing out some stuff she didn't need to make space for Hannah. Hannah was still sleeping soundly on her bed. She would need to wake her soon so they could eat dinner.

Five more minutes. She'd let her sleep for five more minutes.

Something made Calleigh stop what she was doing. She couldn't put her finger on it. It was just a feeling. She walked back out into the hall. The door was ajar, swinging gently in the breeze. Calleigh was sure she had closed the door properly when she came back inside. Maybe Eric had gone out.

She went to the window and pulled the curtain back to look outside. Eric wasn't there. The street was quiet, aside from a black sedan parked across the street.

The black sedan… It had been there when they got home. Calleigh thought back, trying to remember. Had she seen it in the parking lot at MDPD?

Then she heard the scream.

"MOMMY!"

Hannah…

Calleigh ran to the bedroom, grabbing her gun from the kitchen counter on her way through. A masked man was rummaging through the room, tipping bags all over the floor.

"FREEZE" Calleigh yelled "Put your hands up!"  
The man froze with his back to Calleigh. Hannah was crouched in the corner of the room, hugging Taffy tight to her.

Calleigh saw the man reach across his body with his right hand. She didn't give him chance to straighten up again. BANG, she pulled her trigger once, twice, three times. But she heard six shots.

The masked man fell to the floor.

"You OK?"  
Eric was standing behind her, his gun drawn.

"Yeah. Hannah!"  
Calleigh holstered her gun and rushed to the frightened little girl.

"It's OK sweetie. You're OK." Calleigh gathered the child into her arms and carried her out of the room, shielding her eyes from the body on the floor.


	15. Chapter 15

_Horatio_

BANG… BANG… BANG

The shots had come from inside Calleigh's apartment. He and Natalia had just pulled up in the Hummer, with Ryan not far behind. They drew their guns and ran into the building.

The door was off the latch. Horatio burst into the apartment, ready to shoot if he needed to. Natalia and Ryan followed him in.

"MDPD!" he yelled, scouring the apartment. He could hear crying…

"It's OK. We're OK." She was carrying the girl on her hip, stroking her hair as she tried to soothe her. Small as the girl was, she looked altogether too big for Calleigh to carry.  
"Calleigh, where's Eric?"

"I'm right here H." Eric emerged from the bedroom, holstering his weapon.

"Talk to me, Eric."  
"I dunno, H. I heard Hannah scream, then Calleigh shouting. I ran in – he had a weapon, so I took the shot. Hey, how did you guys know to come here?"  
Ryan cleared his throat. "It was the drugs. Natalia and I were going over it all, and then it hit me. The only place we hadn't looked was the doll. We tried calling… there was no answer." Ryan looked at the floor.

Natalia placed a hand lightly on his shoulder. "You did what you could, Ryan."

Hannah was still sobbing, crying out for her mother, whilst Calleigh desperately tried to comfort her. Eric moved to Calleigh, placing a protective arm around her shoulders as she cradled the child. "How did he even know to come here? Surely it was more likely the drugs would be at the lab?"  
"Desperation, perhaps?" Natalia ventured. "He knew he wouldn't get them at the lab, this was his only chance. Or maybe he was watching Ryan and Tripp at the crime scene. I guess we'll never know for sure."

"Ladies and gentlemen, conjecture will get us nowhere. Despite the circumstances, this is still an active crime scene, and we need to treat it as such. Eric, I suggest you and Calleigh take Hannah to your apartment. Ryan, Natalia, start processing the scene. I'll get Alexx down here.

His team swung in to action. He surveyed them all as they worked. Ryan and Natalia automatically split up, working from opposite ends of the apartment. They would meet in the middle and discuss their findings.

Eric was gently guiding Calleigh out of the apartment. Calleigh still clutched Hannah in her arms, as if she couldn't remember how to let her go. They would be OK, Horatio knew. The three of them, together. A family.


	16. Epilogue

_Calleigh and Eric_

Hannah was sleeping. It had taken well over an hour to settle her in Eric's bed, and Calleigh had to keep going back to check that the little girl was OK.

Finally, just after midnight, Eric and Calleigh slumped onto the couch. This would be their bed for the night, since Hannah was in the bedroom.

"You OK?" Eric pulled Calleigh into his arms.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Calleigh fiddled with the sleeve of her sweater.

"Hannah will be OK, you know. She's a tough kid."  
"She shouldn't have to be, though. She's six years old and look what she's been through already."  
Eric hugged her tighter, and brushed a strand of blonde hair off her face. "She's just like her big sister."  
Calleigh smiled "I wish I'd known her sooner. Maybe things would have been different…"  
"Yeah. Maybe. But they could have been worse, you know. It's been a tough day – for both of you. Try and get some sleep, Cal. Hannah's gonna need you in the morning."

Calleigh smiled up at him, looking deep into his eyes. He kissed her – the fourth time that day – and pulled a blanket over the two of them. Within a few minutes, he felt her body relax as she fell into a deep sleep. Eric watched her, so peaceful, so beautiful. He thought about the little girl, sound asleep in the room next door, who looked so much like Calleigh. And he thought about their future, a family that would grow and thrive. Pieces of a jigsaw, finally fitting together.


End file.
